Question/Problem 3: How did World War II affect the lives of the following people?

Objectives

Description of lesson/activity

Resources

1. describe the impact of the war on such diverse groups as

• Jews in Europe
• Japanese-Americans
• Blacks in the United States Army
• American soldiers in combat
• Women in the United States

2. gather information from a variety of resources and organize the information into a written report.

3. produce a written report from the point of view of an individual affected by World War II.

4. present their findings in a group report and create a group project.

• reasons for the conflict
• involvement of the United States in the war
• major battles

2. Students should be organized into groups of five. Each student in the group should be given a different topic to research:

• Jews in Europe
• Japanese-Americans
• African-Americans in the U.S. Army
• American Soldiers in combat
• Women in the United States

3. Included are readings on these topics, and under "Resources" below are listed a variety of additional sources of information. Using these resources plus others provided by the teacher, students should gather information and complete a written project following directions on the "People of World War II" worksheet.

4. The teacher could assign two possible culminating assignments:

• each group could compile its findings into a booklet called "People of World War II." Students might wish to share the booklets with veterans of the war.

• groups could brainstorm common elements of the experiences of these diverse people and individually write an essay highlighting the change, suffering, and bravery exhibited by people during World War II.

Resource 1: People of World War II Worksheet

Resource 2: World War II Reading: Jews in Europe

Resource 3: World War II Reading: Japanese-Americans

Resource 4: World War II Reading: Women in the United States

Resource 5: World War II Reading: American Soldiers

Resource 6: World War II Reading: Black Americans in the United States Army

Below are possible student resources, listed by group to be researched.

1. Jews in Europe

• Adler, David A. We Remember the Holocaust. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1989.

• Spiegelman, Art. Maus. New York: Pantheon Books, 1986.

2. Japanese-Americans

• Armour, John and Peter Wright. Manzanar. New York: Times Books, 1988.

• Hamanaka, Sheila. The Journey. New York: Orchard Books, 1990.

3. African-Americans in the U.S. Army

• Gourley, Catherine. "The Black Eagles." The Magazine for Reading and English (February 14, 1992): pp. 4-15.

• Meltzer, Milton. The Black Americans: A History in Their Own Words 1619 - 1983. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1984.

4. American Soldiers in Combat

• Windrow, Martin. The World War II GI. London: Franklin Watts, 1986.

5. Women in the United States

• Messenger, Charles. Conflict in the Twentieth Century: The Second World War II. New York: Franklin Watts, 1987.